CHINA has so far turned some 13.4 million hectares of hillside farmland into forest, the latest survey from the State Forestry Administration showed.
The campaign to turn farmland into forest covers 25 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities in China and over 90% of the forests created in the project have been well protected.
In the last five years, the Chinese government had allocated 23.6 billion yuan (RM10.8bil) to the project, of which 16.8 billion yuan (RM7.7bil) was used to compensate farmers. Statistics showed 60 million rural families have benefited from it.
The campaign started in 1999 to facilitate the country’s afforestation. The government offered funds for saplings and compensated farmers contributing farmland to the project, which is also aimed at checking soil erosion. – China Daily
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